IVCBlog

Roberto Astete and Cristian Olivares, the two architects of this product, began with experiments to manufacture biodegradable detergent, but at the end they found the chemical formula based on PVA (polyvinyl alcohol, soluble in water) and which replaces petroleum derivatives (the cause of the indestructibility of plastics that have been integrated into the food chain of animals that inhabit the oceans and deteriorate the environment). The general manager and the commercial manager of  SoluBag  expect to market its products from October in Chile, one of the first countries in Latin America to ban the use of conventional plastic bags by stores.

Any form of plastic bags other than those constituting primary packaging “necessary for hygiene or to prevent food wastage” is prohibited. Large businesses have six months to phase out the use of plastic bags, while smaller ones will be given two years to adapt to the new rules. In the meantime the shops will only be allowed to hand out two carrier bags per customer Chile uses more than 3.4 billon plastic bags a year, which translates to almost 200 bags per person annually.